Chapter 50

The Un-Favorite

It was dinnertime again, AKA "let's talk about Olivia's perfection" time. My mom had given us another bowl of store-bought mac and cheese. It was slightly better than the school food, but not by much.

"So Olivia," Dad said. "How did you do on your math test?"

I knew he fully expected to hear she got 100%. My parents should've noticed her statistically impossible grades by now, but they didn't. Straight A+'s were the norm now, setting the bar far too high for Jimmy and I. My grades were good, mostly A's and B's, but I was a failure when I was compared to Olivia.

"I...I don't know yet," Olivia said, her hands shaking as she put down her fork. "The teacher didn't pass back the test."

"You said Mrs. Cumberland always grades the tests the day after she gives them," Mom said.

Olivia folded her arms over her chest. "Well, she didn't this time."

"I don't believe that," Dad said. "And you know what the punishement for lying is."

"No phone for a week," Olivia said sadly. "Fine. I got a C."

"OLIVIA!" Dad shouted.

"Calm down," Mom said. "Did you study?"

"Of course!" Olivia exclaimed. "Why would I not?"

"What was the problem then?"

Olivia shrugged. "I don't know."

"Should I tell Mom what I know?" I asked the Magic 8 Ball.

Better not tell you now.

How did I know it would say that? "I offered to help Olivia," I told Mom.

"Isabelle, that's very kind of you, but I doubt Olivia needed help," Mom said.

"Yeah right," I mumbled.

She turned back to Olivia. "What was the hardest part of the test then?"

"All of it! We didn't go over any of that stuff in class!" Olivia lied.

"Sounds reasonable," Mom said.

"She still needs to be punished," Dad said. "C's are unacceptable, especially from you, Olivia."

"Don't worry about it," Mom said. "You'll do better on the next test, right Olivia?"

"Yeah, of course!" Olivia said.

"There you go. No need to punish her unless it happens again."

I stared down at my bowl of macaroni. My parents were blind. They couldn't see past Olivia's mask: the cute, lovable, practically perfect child that any parent would want. No perfect child would get a C. Or cheat on every test. But what were the alternatives? Me, the cynical teenager who made every decision with a Magic 8 Ball, or Jimmy, the rebellious kid with a motorcycle.

It was easy to see why Olivia was the favorite.

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A/N: I can't believe it! 50 chapters! And 1K reads and 100 votes to go along with it!!!

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